This is something I came across today
Per Time, Hormel started making Spam in 1937. That was just in time for the product to become an important part of the U.S. military’s rations during World War II. It became especially prominent in the Pacific theater, and Spam entered the diets of people living in places like Guam, the Philippines, and Japan where U.S. troops were stationed. In many regions in the Pacific, the war had totally destroyed domestic food production, so rations of Spam from the U.S. became an important survival tool right after the war. Sometimes the U.S. basically forced people to eat Spam, as was the case with Japanese-Americans who were fed Spam in WWII-era internment camps.
Much like fry bread for Native Americans, Spam’s history in the Asia-Pacific region is complicated because it was introduced during a time of violent hardship. It is in some ways a symbol of the reach of American colonialism. However, it is undeniable that cooks in Asia and the Pacific islands have found many delicious ways to insert Spam into their own cuisines. There is budae jjigae from Korea, as well as Hawaii’s Spam musubi, Singapore’s Spam curry, Spam sisig from the Philippines, and Spam macaroni soup from Hong Kong, just to name a few (via The Guardian). Spam has proven to be the ultimate shape-shifter, blending in with flavors from across the globe.
When Monty Python did there famous skit about it, it was parodying British attitude toward the stuff in WWII, and from there it went onto fame as a noun for email solicitations. To this day in the Pacific Islands Spam is still quite popular.